My journey to the MPB Universe!

[easypleasie]

Great idea with the adjustment period. Seems the added mh could be beneficial along with less lumens. I flip flopped my hps lights the first week the girls went into the mpbs to veg and didn't suffer any shock...but then, I had a good amount of roots swimming already before they went into the bins.

Dizzle, i'm afraid to add any kind of bleach to my system but if it works without ill effects, i'd be down to give it a shot. And 25ml isn't a whole lot for that many gallons. 35% h2o2 is a bit pricey but seems to be keeping things stable. Bleach is a whole lot cheaper, though. Are you using the bleach for the entire run now? Or just when you spot potential problems?

 

[billy liar]

Hey billy, thanks for chiming in. How's your grow going? I recall reading about your one 600 watt grow.

There are quite a few things that could have contributed to the root cloggage. Too small of holes, not enough holes, too fast of top feed, too small of netpot, root bound in the coco pots, and explosive growth after using roots excel are a few possibilities. I'm gonna try to eliminate as much as I can on the next run.

I recall reading about Heath's mods in his threads...he uses pretty large top buckets. I really like the wide 4 gallon top buckets he's using now and have actually been looking for something similar. Lots of space for roots to come out.

I'm a huge fan of Heath's and have always valued everything he has said and done. His experience is unparalleled and if there's one person I look up to the most, it would be Heath. I wish he could post more often but I totally understand why he'd want to stay off the boards. He's been doing this for a long ass time. It's such a shame so much good info was lost when the other sites went down.

Hi ep,
yeah the first run in my new room went really well, 2 x 600w bulbs flip flopped, 2 trees and a VScrOG round the back side of bulbs, waiting for last to dry, looking at around 2.1 gpw, and lots of room for improvement.. Thanx for asking mate:banana:

when i say top feed only, I've ran as much as 2000lph through the pebbles and only ever got blockages in the returns. The hole size IS crucial...
the coco pots would concern me, I just did a grow with plants veged in coco in 10l plastic pots, took em from the pots and put into the top tub surrounded by pebbles, worked a treat. restricting the roots is a no no in this system.

something the size of an aquafarm inner pot or the 4 gallon tanks I put heath onto are a great size for this type of system, gives alot of stability to the plant. and as you say a larger surface area for root penatration. (more holes). I now drill holes to around 2inches up the side of the tank.

yes heath is in a different league with his ideas and knowledge, I'm a massive fan, and love the simplicity of his work, really easy to recreate. such a shame other sites went down, a wealth of knowledge went with them.
he'll be back online later this year I reckon, he mentioned a few new ideas.. I'm looking forward...

I'd try and steer clear of H2O2 if poss, the free radicals can cause a real nasty taste in your bud.. UV may be an alternative.. good look with your next run EP, I'll be keeping an eye out..

Hope i've been of some help, or even just of some interest.. LOL

peace
BL

 

[easypleasie]

Thanks for sharing, bro. Glad to hear the flip flop worked for you. 2.1 gpw is insanely impressive and up there with Heath's best grows. How much did you score on your big plants? Pm me if you wanna keep things private. Also, i'd like to read the post about cutting the top feed off, too. I'm setting up a flip flop room myself with my spare 600s and top feed only running my c99 cut. 4 lights but only two will run at a time. What is your flip schedule? 3 on, 3 off?

edit: the uv seems like a good option to get rid of all the nasties if you run into problems. Might have to look into that just to have a backup plan in case I run into problems again. I wish Heath was allowed on this site.

 

[billy liar]

Its prob easier if I pm a link to my grow:winking0067:
the test with cutting off the top feed was lost with HG420.com, but I'm sure heath can explain more when he's back on the forums.. But he mentioned a few times that its perfectly fine to cut off the top feed once roots were established in the bottom tubs.. If I remember correctly the test was to find out if leaving the feed running had any advantage over keeping the pebbles dry.. wish my short term memory was this good... Hehehe

Oh I had a 10oz tree and a 24 oz tree, and looking at around 10-15oz from the VScrOG, all from the 600watts, so I could do 2 x 24 oz trees with the right pheno's..

I'll let you get on with your thread now mate.. LOL

peace
BL

edit: yes 3 on 3off for the flip flop, sorry missed that bit:talking hehehe
switching to 2hrs on 2hrs off, to see if any noticable difference.

 

[billy liar]

nice edit, only as a last resort with the UV, causes ph drop outs, from dying bacteria..
peace
BL

 

[antimatter]

This is all very worrying, ive never lost a plant in coco dtw :sweating if the bugs can't get worked out will any of you mpber guys switch over your buckets to recirculating topdrip/swc/nft buckets?

 

[easypleasie]

I'll switch to whatever works best for me. But I have to try them all first to get a feel for them. I'm trying to find a good balance between getting good yields with less veg time and the least risk of failure. so far i'm liking the chow mix :)

 

[mrdizzle]

I have been adding the bleach at every res change and then I add a tsp every other day.

I love h202 but there is now way to tell if your PPMs are high enough to kill root rot, cholorine its 2ppm, most all the tomatoes and lettuce we eat grew in hydro have a constant 2ppm of chlorine at all times on a doser, kinda to stop the problem before it starts

its really a low level of bleach but its enough to kill root rot, its not even the as much as the reccomended dose to treat emergency drinking water.

the system has many more things that can go wrong so experience plays a huge role, which none of use really have yet, I mean shit Im only on 6th and 7th grow, and my first 4 went perfectly, 5th flopped because I foolishly cut the topfeed and returned it on so that was human error. this run is fine but I did freak for about 2days because I noticed a brown slim on the roots but Im starting to think it was the roots excel, sucks because I really dont know

 

[antimatter]

I'll switch to whatever works best for me. But I have to try them all first to get a feel for them. I'm trying to find a good balance between getting good yields with less veg time and the least risk of failure. so far i'm liking the chow mix :)

I haven't tried out the chow mix yet myself but it wouldn't be much of a switch from pure canna dtw, my current schedule for veg is 8-10 weeks in my veg room then if my flower room is ready to go i throw em in there for speeding up and finishing off the rest of the veg process and i'll tell ya veggin with 80% more wattage is like night and day ive never vegged in my flower room exclusively though like some of the tree grows ive seen.

 

[easypleasie]

Day 48

The remaining two mpb girls are still alive!! Buds have started to swell, though they look like they're about a week or so behind schedule. So relieved they pulled through!

That's the white fire (first pic) in the middle of the room in chow mix. She is looking very frosty and dank :) A couple phenos of 13 dawgs in there as well...looks like they are leaning towards the space dawg side of the cross.

I found a good use for my old plant yo-yos...just clip them to the cage to support branches.

 

[mrdizzle]

damn how did you get the white fire up to speed, looks massive

chow mix is 60/40 stones to coco?

 

[easypleasie]

Hey dizzle, that white fire has been in the room since the start of flower. I replaced one of the original mpb girls with her since I wanted some variety. I can't imagine if I had vegged her for a week in the flower room like the others. I just stuck her in there with all the lights on and no problems adjusting. She only had light from one side for weeks 3-5 so the buds on the backside aren't as developed...but they are catching up now that she's got 4k on her :)

I'm experimenting with 50/50 chow mix and only watering a couple times a day. I was gonna water more often but never got around to hooking up a separate pump/timer. She's been trouble free the whole run so far. Basic 10 gallon tubs with 2.5" of straight hydroton on the bottom...the 1" drain sits about 1.25" up the side. No idea what is optimal so lots of trial and error to find out. I'm digging it though :)

 

[Shady]

That's the spirit easy! Those last two girls are looking perfect... :cool

 

[socalsinner]

I have been adding the bleach at every res change and then I add a tsp every other day.

I love h202 but there is now way to tell if your PPMs are high enough to kill root rot, cholorine its 2ppm, most all the tomatoes and lettuce we eat grew in hydro have a constant 2ppm of chlorine at all times on a doser, kinda to stop the problem before it starts

its really a low level of bleach but its enough to kill root rot, its not even the as much as the reccomended dose to treat emergency drinking water.

the system has many more things that can go wrong so experience plays a huge role, which none of use really have yet, I mean shit Im only on 6th and 7th grow, and my first 4 went perfectly, 5th flopped because I foolishly cut the topfeed and returned it on so that was human error. this run is fine but I did freak for about 2days because I noticed a brown slim on the roots but Im starting to think it was the roots excel, sucks because I really dont know

Hey Easy good recovery brotha. I use Zone from Dutch Master. I use 200ml (2ml per gal) at each res change and I also use mosquito dunks with each res change. How much bleach do you use with each res change Dizz?

 

[mrdizzle]

I started putting 1ml per 10gal, or one tsp per 50gal, at res change, I generally havent been adding more until I dump the res again

In case of a rot problem, you can run the system with 2ml per 10gal for 4-5hrs then dump the res and put some fresh water with 1ml per 10gal in there.

I have heard alot about zone, it kills PM too I hear

 

[antimatter]

Nice, you got that room packed full.

 

[Papa]

ep, amazing recovery! congrats!

'can't wait to see this finish up.








Papa

 

[BOSSMAN88188]

Congrats bro,
Very releaved to hear you pulled her through.
Started with the bleach this weak. The roots and girls do seem to like it.

 

[TheNewBreed]

Hi Easy. I just wanted to say how shocked I am at whats going on with this forum. I've been here since you, bossman, lost, and dizzle were in your planning stages reading and building. For the most part I try and keep a low profile and just about every question i've ever had was already answered in your threads. I'm currently running my first set and things are good. Any problems or hiccups I encounter i've been prepared for and been able to resolve solely because all of you guys walked and talked through these same problems in your first runs. Still I feel like its a never ending learning process and I'm constantly implementing new ideas, ie: dizzle talking about adding bleach to the rest and bossman confirming that his girls seemed to like it. Things here have just become so flooded with people not wanting to do the research, or even ranting on about off topic ideas its getting to be really frustrating to come on the boards and not simply see the 5 or 6 main peoples journals updated with new information and lessons learned from hands on experience. Hopefully you'll check in once in a while and continue to share your experiences. I'd have sent this in a PM but as mentioned before i rarely post and don't believe i'm able to send them untill i reach a certain amount. Thanks again for everything man. And Bossman, Dizzle, Lost....of course DoubleD thanks to all you guys as well if you're reading.

 

[biggs]

absolutley amazing. those are some serious trees. i've seen outdoor trees smaller. doubleds would be proud, fo sho.